DV Safe Phone: Lake Macquarie council looks to help domestic violence victims

Toronto resident Angela Finney is determined to link Lake Macquarie City Council with DV Safe Phone, a not-for-profit that collects, cleans, repairs and distributes mobile phones to victims.

"I have known people who were involved in domestic violence ... it's always affected me," she said.

"It was so difficult for a friend of mine to get away from it.

"Hopefully the council will do something about it because it doesn't take much effort and they already have MobileMuster e-waste collection boxes in the libraries."

So, when she heard about DV Safe Phone on the radio, she decided to take it to deputy mayor Adam Shultz and Cr Madeline Bishop to see how they could help.

Last week, the council voted to look into developing a relationship with the charity and to see if there are opportunities to trial the program in the city.

DV Safe Phone provides phones collected from the community to frontline agencies and services trained to offer specialised domestic and family support.

From there, they go out to victims who can use them to call for help when they need it most.

Cr Shultz said the initiative, out of Queensland, presents a great opportunity to help victims of domestic violence and reduce e-waste.

"Domestic violence doesn't discriminate, it's not particular to one local government area, this issue is Australia wide, it doesn't stop at the boundaries of Lake Macquarie but it can effectively take place anywhere with devastating consequences," he said.

According to DV Safe Phone, there are an estimated 28 million unused phones sitting in drawers and cupboards, and of those around 21 million are still working.

So far, the initiative has collected more than 14,100 phones and supplied more than 5500 of those to victims.

Cr Bishop said the fight against domestic violence is worth supporting.

"The data surrounding domestic violence is simply staggering, and I think we all know that," she said.

"Sadly, I suggest without speaking out of turn, that we probably all know someone who has been affected by domestic violence.

"I think we also know that the trauma that's caused by domestic violence goes through the whole fabric of our society and I think that anything we can do here in Lake Macquarie is really important to try to prevent at least one family going through another situation that can be quite devastating."

She said she looks forward to seeing the results of the investigation into developing a relationship with the charity.

At the meeting, Cr David Belcher said it was a practical way to assist people experiencing domestic violence.

"We're a pretty large consumer of e-goods here at council so I think the number of mobile phones that council staff and councillors can churn through over a full term of council would be quite significant," he said.

IN THE NEWS